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POLL: Is your recycling starting to pile up?

The sun may be shining and the roads and sidewalks long cleared of any remnants of snow but many Greater Victoria residents are still feeling the effects of the Island’s recent brush with winter.
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Mounds of recyclable materials are beginning to pile up as curbside pickup has been delayed for numerous households across the Capital Region. (Twitter/CRD)

The sun may be shining and the roads and sidewalks long cleared of any remnants of snow but many Greater Victoria residents are still feeling the effects of the Island’s recent brush with winter.

Mounds of recyclable materials are beginning to pile up as curbside pickup has been delayed for numerous households across the Capital Region.

Cascades Recovery – the region’s primary sorting facility for recyclable materials – is currently unable to receive loads from all residential and commercial sources due to an equipment breakdown. In addition, the delays and cancellations caused by the heavy snowfall in December have snowballed, as larger-than-usual volumes are putting additional strain on the CRD’s curbside blue box program.

ALSO READ: Victoria recycling facility equipment breakdown leads to suspension of commercial pickups

Rachel Lamb hasn’t seen curbside collection in her Oaklands neighbourhood since Dec. 15, and weeks’ worth of recyclable material continues to mount at her home.

“Since we couldn’t get picked up on the 14-day Wednesday schedule, I would think that we would be next on the list for the next time around, but that never happened,” she said. “I wish it had been treated differently and that issues around scheduling were being addressed – it just feels like it’s being swept under the rug.”

ALSO READ: Some Victoria residents going on six weeks without recycling pickup

Recycle BC and Emterra have implemented a contingency plan to ensure curbside blue box pickup remains operational despite the ongoing challenges, according to a CRD press release. Recycle BC is responsible for paper and packaging recycling in the province and Emterra is the contractor responsible for collecting these materials within the CRD.

Residents and businesses are encouraged by the CRD to consider where they can limit their packaging consumption and to reuse as much as possible. Recycling material can also be dropped off at several locations around the region.

More on recycling options and updates about ongoing service challenges are available at www.crd.bc.ca.

Is your recycling starting to pile up? Take our poll and let us know.


 

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